Woods' loss puts golf in the rough

It's no secret that Tiger Woods is bigger than professional golf.

It became obvious years ago that there's not a remote challenger to his supremacy.

With Woods sidelined by knee and leg injuries for the rest of the season, viewer -- and maybe even paying spectator -- interest in the sport is about to go the way of persimmon-headed drivers.

The world will learn exactly how much more important Woods is than the remainder of his colleagues combined. For bean counters, it's going to be one more good walk foiled, too.

Oh, sure, folks will keep playing. Weekend foursomes will continue to battle it out in $2 Nassau bets, and miniature putting courses won't lose their appeal as birthday party sites for youngsters.

When it comes to television ratings, the top men's tournaments soon will find out what it's like to do business on something akin to the Nationwide Tour. And for Pete's sake, please don't feed me any Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh rhetoric. To television audiences, they are to Woods what the Harvard-Yale game is to the Rose Bowl.

The first networks to feel the pain will be ABC and TNT, which have the coverage package for the July 17-20 British Open at Royal Birkdale. Up next will be TNT and CBS, which have the PGA Championship being played Aug. 7-10 at Oakland Hills Country Club outside Detroit.

But the ultimate price will have to be paid by ESPN and NBC, which have the Ryder Cup at Louisville's Valhalla Club on Sept. 19-21. It'll still be the Ryder Cup, but this one will have a big asterisk.

Maybe there's some poetic justice in the TV equation. During last week's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, ESPN and NBC scored a certified bonanza. Woods' Monday playoff win over Rocco Mediate was such compelling TV that trading on the New York Stock Exchange was off by almost 10 percentage points during the 19-hole afternoon match.

By far, the more important issue will be Woods' effectiveness in 2009 and beyond. There's a good chance that Woods, who won't turn 33 until Dec. 30, will make a full recovery. But that doesn't change the fact he is on the verge of a fourth knee surgery and will face a difficult rehab process. Other than a bum back or lying eyes on 4-foot putts, knee trouble is the nastiest physical foe pro golfers have to confront.

If it turns out that Woods' best days are behind him, pro golf doesn't merely have a presentation problem. It has a five-alarm emergency with no apparent roof access.

That's what the combination of Woods' superiority and a lack of financial urgency on the tour has created. He has been so good for pro golf that he's been too good. He has created such an infusion of money that the coattail effect has been almost boring for average tourists.

Mickelson is the perfect example. On his best day in a major tournament, the guy couldn't hold Johnny Miller's microphone. Yet, Mickelson is generally acknowledged to be the second-best active player alive. He's a nice, friendly sort of fellow, and sponsors love him. He's made millions of dollars.

But between the ears and in the middle of his chest, Mickelson, at 38, has the competitive presence of a lightning bug. He's in golf to make money at a time when Woods is playing to make history. Mickelson isn't alone. He's really no different from the Els, etc., crowd. But in a sport rooted in the relentless tradition of Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, big money-makers don't advance the cause a great deal. Folks with big goals do, which is why Mediate was more of a problem for Woods, weak-kneed or not, than most of big names would have been Monday.

Twenty-five years ago, when tour golfers had to win big to deposit big, it's likely that Woods would have had much more trouble establishing his rank. He wouldn't have been staring down Lee Westwood on Sunday at Torrey Pines. The guy on the other side of the tee box probably would have been Nicklaus or Tom Watson. Big difference.

Woods was groomed to chase down and pass Nicklaus. His contemporaries were groomed to chase down paychecks and equipment endorsements.

But the mind-set of pro golf's fans hasn't changed. They're not getting paid. They're in it for the drama. And when Woods isn't there, especially in the major events, there's not much drama. For television and the pro tour, it's a double-edged shaft.

Golf is the vehicle to unprecedented popularity, but Tiger is the one and only driver. Without him, there's nothing but thick rough and declining income on either side of the course.